Military Takes Apps to War

Soldiers Use Mobile Devices for Mapping, Networking, Virtual Lineups

Leading his platoon on a mission to clear a hostile village in Afghanistan last year, U.S. Army Lt. Kevin Pelletier took a small tablet computer along with his gun, body armor and radio.

The hardened version of the five-inch Dell Streak developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contained a custom application with Google-like maps based on satellite images. Lt. Pelletier used it to update the precise location of...